


When the Sun Doesn't Shine and the Stars Don't Sparkle

by killajokejosie



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adoption, Alpha Barry, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Babies, Fluff, Hormones, Humor, I know it is insane, Iris West Is An Awesome Sister, Love, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Felicity, Omega Oliver, Omega Verse, Past Miscarriage, Planned Pregnancy, Sex, Sex Toys, What? Planned? Yeah, other things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-09-14 22:21:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9205952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killajokejosie/pseuds/killajokejosie
Summary: After four years and three lost, the one thing that they wanted was looking more like a distant dream then anything else, with hope slipping. But, maybe there was something that could be done, maybe there was some way for them to be happy and get what they wanted most.





	1. I Am Life and I Am Death

Blood. Blood was simultaneously a symbol of life, just as much as it was a symbol of death. This could be supported on a multitude of levels that I am just not fully prepared to dive into. Explaining it means nothing. Explaining it only seems to make the situation worse. Just as someone was certainly alive if they were bleeding, that same thing could mean that they were simply dying.

Which, I guess, in reality, was always the truth. Everyone is dying, some people just do it slower than the others. 

Blood. There was always so much of it when it happened. I guess I was used to the carnage like levels, the sheer amount no longer a shock. Of course, the first time, the only thing that I could even process in those moments, before either of us actually knew what was going on, was how badly I wanted to take away his pain. I would have done anything to make that part go away, even to this day, even as the horror of it lies in the back of his mind stronger than it ever could in mine. 

I think the worst one was the second. Only because it was the one that had been the furthest. Twins. Boys. It was almost as if somehow we had gotten lucky. Fate was playing in our favor. We were going to get two after losing one before. We loved them, named them, wished only the best for them. It just wasn't in the cards for us then. Probably isn't even now. 

It is kind of a bit funny how there are all of these children born into the world who are unwanted and often neglected by awful parents when the two of us, and those like us, cannot even have one of our own to raise and share all of the love we would have for them. 

After all of this time I know that I want to be a parent, more than anything else in the world, just as I know that he wants the same. I know that we would both give up everything, our jobs, our crime fighting, our homes, if it meant that for once the odds would be in our favor. 

What a mad little world that we had been brought into?

***

It was after midnight when I finally made it home. It would have been later, but there was the benefit of being a speedster at my disposal. 

I flicked on the light in the hallway, slowly making my way into the living room. The faint sound of the television the only indication that there was actually anyone else in the house. Even still, it was quiet, more so that I would have liked. But, then again, I was used to commotion. 

My husband was passed out on the couch. The nights that he didn't have missions of his own, with no battles to take on, this had become the norm. This had even began to ring true when I wasn't away. 

I ran my eyes along his body. Even in a strangely beautiful slumber there was something unsettling about the way he was. Perhaps, it had been the two empty bottles of wine. I wasn't even sure anymore.

I moved his legs so that I could sit down beside him on the couch. It stirred him awake enough for him to look over at me, eyes red. He looked like he had been crying. The sight made my heart hurt. 

"Hey," I whispered, gesturing for him to move closer, hoping he would rest his head on my shoulder. 

"Hi," He mumbled, hardly more than a simple sound. He forced a smile and joined me, allowing me to wrap an arm around him, holding him in the same protective way that I had for so long.

"How did today go?" 

He took a deep breath. "Adoption can take up to seven years, and surrogacy is absolutely expensive,"

"I thought that money wasn't an object,"

"It isn't, unless it becomes an issue. The rate of surrogacy actually working on the first try is less than forty-five percent."

"That is still better than nothing at all,"

He nuzzled up against me. "You are forever the optimist, I don't know how you do it, I've always envied that about you...even in darkness, you are able to find the light,"

"I can only find the light because I have you,"

His phone began to ring. He fumbled for it, quickly answering. I recognized the ring tone, aside from me, the only two people who had different tones were Felicity and his sister, Thea. If I wasn't mistaken, this phone call was coming from Miss Smoak. 

I couldn't hear much on her end. Oliver didn't say much, either. For the most part it seemed like a lot of 'uh-huh' above all else. All it served to do was make me more curious about what was going on.

When he ended his conversation, he turned back to me, completely blank expression on his face, devoid of any emotion. "I think we should go upstairs,"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Seriously? What did you two talk about?"

He shook his head, effectively shutting any further discussion about the phone call down. "It doesn't matter, let's go upstairs,"

"Alright," I shrugged. "Lead the way, my dear,"

***

I woke up the next morning, and because it was still before noon it would be a long time before Oliver even considered getting out of bed. I wandered down the stairs, knowing that I was going to need to pick up the bottles and make some sort of effort to clean the damn place up before the woman from the adoption agency arrived. It was not going to be easy to convince here that we would make good parents when we both worked erratic hours and my mate was slipping into an alcohol aided depression. At the very least our living room needed to have a neat appearance. 

I might have been wrong, but sometimes I thought that I wanted this more than he did. But, at the same time, there was no way that I could ever understand what he was going through. I was an alpha, I had no real duties to society other than to take a mate. Alphas were not looked down upon if they didn't have a family. We were considered the superior top gender. Oliver was a masculine omega, already nonconforming when it came to what the general population expected him to look like. His appearance was a defense mechanism, but it was hard for anyone to see it that way. He was also older than most, unable to carry his own children to term yet. He had it so much worse.

This was the one thing that I couldn't fix, and I certainly didn't want to risk the possibility of causing damage to the timeline if I were to attempt to manipulate it.

I hated this.

Once again I was sitting down on the couch. Only this time, Oliver was still sleeping upstairs. His scent still remained, however, sweet and uniquely his. I noticed something interesting sitting on the coffee table. Apparently, he was very serious about all of this, despite his typical outward presented strength. He had found information on surrogacy, as well as several radical new fertility treatments that he was clearly willing to try. 

As long as this wasn't just for me.

I shoved the stack of pamphlets and papers in the small drawer. I didn't need the distraction. I needed to focus on the task at hand in hopes that we might have a good meeting at three o' clock when Ms. Robertson arrived.

I guess that also involved assisting Oliver.

***

Time has a pretty terrible habit of moving slowly, even if it is only mental, whenever there is something about to happen.

Now, was no different.


	2. The Gold Frame on the Door

The meeting with the woman from the adoption agency had gone about as well as anyone could have expected it to. Oliver in his current state was not exactly radiating any extreme amounts of optimism or anything else that was positive or good. He was as close to the opposite of that as humanely possible. His depression shone through just a bit more than I would have liked.

The woman picked up on that. She saw that he suffered, and she didn't like it. For more than one reason it made her weary. I was just ever so lucky to have her pull me to the side and discuss these small details with me. It was a miracle that we were not completely counted out, but the odds of us being able to adopt a baby were looking less in our favor. However, she made sure to tell me that she would recommend us for foster care.

I didn't have the heart to tell this to Oliver. Maybe, it was because I hated to see him in a worse mental state then the one that he was in now, or maybe, it was because I loved him so damn much. Either way, this was a poisonous cycle. It had happened before and it would happen again. 

He picked up the half empty bottle of wine off the kitchen counter, pulling the half wedged cork out with his teeth, spitting it out gods knew where. He looked like he was considering drinking straight from it, but he seemed to change his mind at the last minute, grabbing out two glasses and pouring us both some of the dry red. I didn't usually drink, simply because it didn't have any effect, but I wasn't going to turn it down.

"I'm sorry," He muttered, bringing the glass to his nose. There was no eye contact, just words.

I took a sip, at least it tasted good. "Why are you sorry?"

"I am sorry that I am not in a good place, I'm sorry that I couldn't pull myself out of this even for a couple of hours, and I'm sorry that I can't give you a baby," Oliver took a deep breath. "Some omega you ended up with, huh?"

I sat my glass down on the counter, focusing on my mate with everything that I had. I wrapped my arms around his waist, looking deep into his beautiful eyes. It was times like these, when he was feeling the most broken, that I knew that the reason I was still alive was to make sure that he was safe. I had to spend extra time to ensure that he felt valid, adequate, loved. Every minute of it meant the world to me, because he meant the world to me.

"I didn't just end up with 'some omega', I ended up with a strong, intelligent, independent, and oh so beautiful omega who I love very much. I happen to think that I am the luckiest alpha alive, and most of that is because of you. I love you, Oliver Queen-Allen."

I kissed him. It wasn't an impressive, earth shattering kiss, but it was full of love. It was wonderful.

"I love you, too, Barry," He whispered when the kiss broke, grabbing his glass of wine, slamming the rest of it down without skipping a beat. 

He reached for what was left in the bottle, tipping it over into the sink in the process. Red liquid slashed up on his arm, making us both laugh. 

"I'm a mess," 

I pulled him back into an embrace. "Maybe, but you are my mess, so it is okay,"

***

Nightmares tended to keep me from falling asleep at night. I went for days on end sometimes, the complete opposite of Oliver. Horrors of my past often crept up into my thoughts when darkness took over. Occasionally, it was things that I had forgotten, things that I had worked hard to change, but for the most part, I had nightmares about blood. 

I was slowly getting around it. Very slowly. 

This particular night was not a good night. 

I sat on the bed, head back against the wall and knees pulled against my chest. I inhaled through my nose and counted to ten, basically trying to do every trick in the book that would calm me down. I don't think I had even gotten twenty minutes of sleep before the images shook me awake. 

I glanced over at Oliver, sleeping peacefully. I envied him. 

I reached over for my phone, taking it off of the charger before I sat it in my lap. It lit up, a picture on the lock screen of Oliver and I. He was smiling. I missed that smile. He didn't do it often enough for my liking. It was beautiful. 

I began scrolling through pictures, remembering every love induced moment. I tried to live in them again, feel whatever emotions I was feeling at the time, hoping that they might blanket me in enough comfort to fall back asleep in a calmer state of mind. 

_Are you coming home for Easter?-IW_

I read the message. I had no idea how close it actually was to the date in question. Of course, I wanted to answer her right away, but I also didn't want to potentially disrupt any plans that Oliver might have had. 

_Why on earth are you still up?_

_Couldn't sleep. Was thinking about you. How's Ollie?-IW_

_He is better than normal. Sort of. Adoption agency meeting was disappointing._

_I'm so sorry Bar. If there was anything I could do you know I would.-IW_

_Well you could send a letter to the agency. Easter gift?_

_You got it. I love you. Go to sleep.-IW_

_Could say the same. Haha._

I clicked the phone off and sat it back down beside the lamp on the end table. I ran my hands over my face, life was exhausting.

***

"I have no idea what I am going to do with this information, I literally want to...ahh...scream at the top of my lungs...that is why I have kept quiet about it. It is also why I have been quiet for the past week or so. To think that it might have influenced our meeting with Miss Fine makes me feel even worse." As the words came out of Oliver's mouth I could sense his pain. 

But, if it helped, I didn't know what to do with the information. It hurt. It wasn't fair. 

I sighed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. It was a little strange to be sitting in my childhood room, on my childhood bed that served me well past the point that it should have with my husband. It wasn't the first time that we had been here, but it was the first time that we had been in my room since the last baby we lost. Thanksgiving felt like so long ago. 

I hated thinking about it.

"I actually think I know what I will do...because I love her and she is my best friend," Oliver said, voice stronger than it had been moments before.

"Yeah?"

"I'll throw her a baby shower, give her a break from her responsibilities to the Green Arrow, make sure that she is well rested, congratulate her properly..."

"Maybe she will name it after you,"

Oliver chuckled. "If she does that, I will probably break down and cry,"

"And promise to name our first child Felicity, even if it is a boy,"

"If we even ever have one, that is,"

I leaned my head against him. "We will, I know we will,"

There was a knock at the door. I knew it was Iris, she had been pacing back and forth in front of the door for the past ten minutes, contemplating what she was going to say when she finally made the effort and entered, because obviously we were not going to tell her she couldn't come inside.

"Come on in, Iris!" I called, finding myself smiling, even with everything else going on. Iris was amazing, the absolute best sister that I could have ever asked for. Period.

She walked inside, only to start pacing again. It wouldn't have bothered me, except that she felt the need to do it right in front of Oliver and I. He wasn't going to say anything, but I definitely felt like I needed to.

"Why are you doing that? Stop it. What is going on?" I asked her.

The next step that she should have taken was stunted, instead turning on her heel towards us. "I really want to talk to the two of you about something, and it is okay if you don't like the idea, or you think it is crazy, but I want to at least put it out there on the table, give you a chance to think about it and consider it as one of your options,"

"Um..." Oliver muttered.

"What is it?"

"I...I think that I should be your surrogate. I have already been checked out by a doctor. I am healthy enough. Plus, you wouldn't have to pay the fees to some stranger. It would just be the fees for the procedure itself." She blurted out.

"But you are a beta," Oliver said in a monotone.

"Are you sure about this, Iris? It is a really big deal, I mean, you would be pregnant. You would have to put your life on hold for nine months. It is a really big decision." 

She took one of each of our hands, squeezing them tightly. "I've thought it over for a long time. I am willing to do this for you because you two deserve a child more than any couple in the world. I love you both so much. I want to have your baby."


	3. Chemical Imbalance

We were lucky enough to find out that Iris was completely healthy and ready for implantation. We were one step closer to being parents. It seemed surreal. After all of the struggle, the answer was right there in front of us in the form of my adoptive sister. The fact that she was an unusually fertile beta, a rarity for the most part, came as an added bonus. 

Finally. 

It felt like a weight was being lifted off of my shoulders. That sounded strange, didn't make all that much sense, but for me, it meant everything. I had stood by Oliver's side throughout all of this, I had some understanding. Well, that, and I really wanted to be a dad. 

Now, all we had to do was let nature run its course.

***

"You are terrible at this," Oliver huffed, scribbling out another line after being shot down by Felicity for the upteenth time.

Felicity sighed. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be this picky, and I am really glad that you are helping me, but I want this to be perfect,"

Perhaps, I should clarify. Oliver wasn't having his own suggestions shot down by Felicity, rather Felicity was shooting down her own suggestions. She was trying to get him to fill in all of the blanks, and basically plan the entire baby shower himself. It really didn't make that much sense, since the party was supposed to be for her, but for whatever reason, she felt the need to put all of her faith in Oliver and his coordinating skills. They were great, but that was beside the point.

"Do you just want me to make all of the decisions?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No," The pretty blonde took a very big deep breath. It was almost comical. "Maybe we just shouldn't be doing this right now,"

"We could actually go out and get dinner like we planned," I piped in. I had been silent for far too long. I wanted to remind them that I was still in the room, bored out of my mind as I listened to them picking themes and colors and a plethora of other things.

Oliver looked over at me. "I think we should, we should get pizza,"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright, Felicity, you coming with us?"

"Of course! I'm not crazy. There is no way that I am missing a chance at free pizza."

"Free?" Oliver chuckled. "You must think pretty highly of yourself,"

"Oh...I..."

"I'm kidding, we invited you, we wouldn't make you pay for yourself,"

"Come on, you two, I'm getting hungry. I worked up quite the appetite, despite the fact that I had not been doing anything.

***

I felt like I was not really a part of the conversation while we were at the restaurant. Everything that Felicity and Oliver managed to talk about didn't really concern me. I was not a part of the baby shower, I wasn't a part of the planning, and it was really hard for me to just insert myself into the discussion.

At least the food was good. Sure, it took forever for everyone to decide that we had to have two pizzas because Oliver was being weird, but it was the taste that really mattered.

Once I had finally given up on getting a word in I turned to my phone. I knew that I wasn't going to hear the end of it later, but I wasn't about to stare at the table for the next hour or so.

I texted Iris. I was secretly obsessing over the baby that might have been growing inside of her. Mine and Oliver's baby. It was exciting, even though I no one knew if she was actually pregnant yet, or if she even would be. There was a risk of a false negative if she took the test too soon, but I didn't want to wait.

I needed something, anything. My intuition said that we were going to actually have this happen on the first try, hopefully I was right.

It had only been about fifteen minutes from the time that I first texted her that I received the picture message confirming the good news. It was still technically a week too early, but I was staring at my screen, photo of a positive pregnancy test lighting up even the darkest corners of my mind. I knew I was smiling, beaming even, but I didn't care. I was probably only moments away from laughing. I was so happy, and I couldn't wait to tell Oliver.

My laughter actually turned out to be a pretty decent starting point. Oliver was staring at me the second that it started.

"What is so funny?" He asked, squinting his eyes at me.

I slid my phone across the table for him to see. He tapped a finger on the screen to light up the picture once more. Immediately, he clasped his hand over his mouth. The restaurant lighting was bad, but I was almost certain that his eyes were welling up with tears. His emotions had been very up and down the past few days, so this had been an amazing sight, especially when it was complimented by his smile.

"Some picture, huh?" I asked him when he hadn't made any effort to give me back my phone.

He nodded. "It...might be the best thing that I have ever seen in my entire life,"

"That is kind of what I was thinking, at least, it will be until we see the first ultrasound,"

Felicity was the next one to have my phone. I would be lucky to get it back anytime soon. "Oh my god! I'm so happy for you two! After all of this time. No one deserves it more than you. You two are going to make incredible parents. That future kid of yours is going to be so spoiled and loved."

"It is probably going to be a difficult sell, but I really think that we should temporarily move Iris into our place. That way we can control the care that she is getting, make sure she is eating right."

"I might have the edge here, because she listens to me more than you," Oliver said, smiling. "I think it would be a great idea. I can't believe this is real...I can't wait to hug your sister the next time I see her, which will probably be very soon all things considered."

"I love you so much, Oliver,"

He grabbed my hands from across the table. "I love you, too, Barry,"

***

Oliver was sitting on the bed, bottle of wine between his legs. The moment that I walked into the room, he handed me the bottle. A grand red, how could I resist?

My foot hit something underneath the bed. Something distinctly made of plastic.

I swiftly moved to grab whatever made the crinkling sound on contact, surprised to see that it was quite a bit stranger than I was anticipating. I held the bag in my hand, examining Oliver's new expression that came over his face as soon as I pulled it out.

"Should I actually ask why the hell this is under the bed, or would you like me to just pretend that there isn't an empty bag of vegan beef jerky in my hand? Damn that sounds ridiculous coming out of my mouth. Why vegan beef jerky, anyways? Like, couldn't you have decided on turkey of this was some sort of calorie related thing?"

Oliver ripped the bag away from me. "I'm surprised that you did not ask why there wasn't two more bags under the bed that are not empty,"

I grabbed the other two. They were different flavors, but they were still vegan. I still didn't understand that. Vegan beef jerky seemed like a really dumb oxymoron.

"Well, get talking," I said, reaching into the bag with the most still in it, daring enough to take a bite. It was interesting tasting, not bad, though.

"I don't have anything to say,"

"Oh, please, don't give me that," I wrapped an arm around his waist. "You always have a reason for the weird things that you do,"

"Now you are calling me weird? What is this about?"

"Ollie, can you please just tell me what is going on?"

"I like the way it tastes. It has nothing to do with calories. I was craving it."

My forehead was not exactly small by any means, yet somehow I felt like my eyebrows had actually shot up to my hairline. I was reading too far into it, that was certain, but the words that had come out of my husband's mouth were a bit triggering for me. 

Just like that my mind was filled with images of blood, it flooded towards me, it made my hands shake and my breath hitch. I needed to calm down, think rationally. 

I yanked the wine bottle away from him. "Are you...pregnant?"

"Barry, that isn't even...no, just no...I'm pretty sure that I would know if I was pregnant."

I waved the bags of jerky in his face. "Alright, then explain your weird craving?"

"It is possible to crave food while not being pregnant, you do know that, right?"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, of course, maybe I just need some sleep,"

"I think I can help you with that," He whispered, voice so seductive it managed to push every other thought from my mind. I was willing to let him do anything to me. I needed the release.

"Please, do your worst,"

***

I had forgotten to set my alarm for work the next morning. I had a habit of being late, so it probably didn't matter. However, it was well past ten when I woke up, only doing so because my phone was ringing incessantly. 

I glanced at the screen, still groggy, barely able to read the number. 

Once I was seeing it clearly, I sat up quickly, eyes wide as I fumbled to answer the call. It seemed dreamlike. I almost couldn't believe it, especially after everything that had transpired. 

Then it sunk in, just as I was saying hello. We were going to be in way over our heads.


	4. Being A Rift in the Airway

I ended the phone call wondering what I was going to tell Barry. I literally had no way of wrapping my head around how this happened. 

I rubbed my temples. I had one of the worst headaches of my entire life and I couldn't figure out how or why it was happening. Or, well, I knew why, but not how. 

Of course, because I was so amazed that the woman had called me back so soon I couldn't think straight. I agreed to have a meeting with the poor, scared omega that was going to be giving up a child, despite knowing full well that Iris was carrying our biological child. Part of it was because I was taken in by the West family when my father was in prison. This omega had a legitimate reason for giving up their child, and that child needed to be raised by at least one loving parent. If Oliver and I adopted the child, then obviously the child would be loved by two. 

Here I was making plans without consulting my husband, as if it was okay to do things like that. There was no way of knowing if he would be okay with adopting a child, since we were already expecting. I could try all I wanted to convince him, but there was always going to be that chance that he didn't think this was the right time. I was just so excited to have been selected so early, there was no telling how long it would be before something else happened. 

I could always try waiting, attending the meeting alone. Just so that we wouldn't possibly lose the chance to adopt the baby.

"OLIVER!" The name came out of my mouth so fast I barely recognized the sound. This was my conscience telling me that I absolutely had to have the conversation with him beforehand. 

He ran into the room, barely stopping in front of me. "Yes? What do you need? Why are you yelling?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure why I am yelling. I shouldn't have."

"Why does that sound like an apology? You don't need to apologize. Are you feeling alright?"

I held out my hand. "Come here,"

He allowed me to yank him down on the bed to sit down beside me. "What has gotten into you?"

"I got a phone call," I began, grabbing his hand again. "A really interesting phone call,"

"Really? Yeah? Was it Iris? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"

"It wasn't Iris. Iris is fine. So is the baby. This has nothing to do with Iris or our baby."

"Then what is going on, what was the phone call about?"

"Do you remember the adoption agency worker who came and interviewed us?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, she was who called and it was to set up an interview with an omega that wants to give their unborn child up for adoption,"

Oliver was staring at me like he already knew what was coming next, but he was going to make me say it out loud, anyways. His eyes were wider than normal. He wanted to read every detail of my mind before I had a chance to fight for this. I was having a hard time not blurting it all out and telling him that it was happening whether he liked it or not, but I knew that was the least mature option. 

"Did you tell her that we are already having a baby and that we were no longer interested?"

I shook my head. "I didn't tell her either of those things,"

"That is kind of like lying, isn't it? What are you going to do when she finds out?"

"I agreed to meet with the omega, I want you to come with me, we need to adopt this child..." I trailed off, almost afraid that he was going to hit me. Which was stupid, because that was not going to happen. Our love was stronger than that.

"We need to adopt this child," He repeated the words immediately after me in a soft tone.

"Yes, yes,"

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" 

"I do. It is our way of helping an innocent child have better circumstances. Obviously, the omega that is pregnant is unable to care for them after birth for any number of reasons. This is our chance to help a child have a wonderful life full of love."

Oliver laid back, hands behind his head. "Okay,"

"What?"

"Okay, let's do this. I wanted more than one child, and it isn't like we can keep renting out the space in your sister's uterus. And, since we haven't exactly had any luck doing this on our own, it would be best that we didn't waste this chance. Not only will this child get two parents who will love them more than they will ever be able to imagine, but they will also have a sibling that is very close in age. They will relate better that way. You should know that first hand, just look at how close you are with Iris. When you first said it, I wasn't sure, but now, now I know that this is what we have to do. We need this. These two children that are going to come into our lives might just be the things we need to make our family complete." 

I knew there were tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't care. I was a mess. I decided that it was okay that I was. There was no one I had to answer to, besides Oliver. All of a sudden we were experiencing this rush of light in our lives, our luck had changed.

I laid down next to Oliver. I moved as close to him as possible, wrapping my arms around him.

"Two,"

"Certainly never thought that I was going to ever have the right to say that I was going to have two children,"

"Well, it is still one until after this meeting. The omega has to actually like us in order for all of this to go according to plan."

"From what you said, they are desperate, I think the odds are in our favor,"

***

If it was not already abundantly clear, Oliver and I were in over our heads. We didn't try to act nervous, it just came naturally. As soon as the first appointment was over, it all began to sink in. Our lives were definitely going to be changing.

I clutched the sonogram image rather tightly. There wasn't much to see, but it was still our baby, and that was what mattered. 

Of course, I knew I was way more excited then the average father, but I couldn't help it. I had gotten so close to this so many times. I had a good feeling about this. 

Oliver was even more over the moon than I was, rightfully so. Inside of his rough exterior, he was the average omega. The two of us were in love, we were mated, and that meant we were supposed to start a family. It was kind of amazing, that after all he had been through, he was able to hold his head high and smile. He wasn't able to carry our child, but he was finally getting the chance to be someone's parent.

I think that was actually the main goal for both of us. 

We arrived at the agency a few minutes early. Oliver ripped the sonogram out of my hands and slid it into the front pocket of his button up shirt. He cleaned up much, much better than me.

We walked inside, hand in hand, walking back to the room that we were directed to. It was empty. There were a total of four chairs, positioned with two on one side, one across from it, and one in the middle. The set up made perfect sense. We sat down in the chairs that we had imagined were for us. 

Oliver reached over and grabbed my hand again. His skin was clammy, cool. It made me wonder what was going through his mind.

"What are we going to say to the omega when they arrive? How do we start?" He asked.

"I don't know why you are asking me, I've never been through this before, either. All that I know right now is that I love you more than life itself, and you are going to be an amazing parent."

He leaned over, giving me a peck on the cheek. "I know that I don't always show it, and I do things that you don't approve of, I'm often not home at a decent hour, but being a parent is the one thing in life that I have always wanted. So, even if one of these doesn't work out, I know we actually have a chance. I know that we have something."

The door opened. My breath hitched. The person walking through the door was either the woman from the agency, or the omega that wanted to give us their baby, either way it was a big deal.

In walked a gorgeous, pale skinned young man with brown hair several shades darker than my own. He wasn't even conventionally pretty, or even conventional looking for a male omega, but I guess that made sense since my attractions tended to lie with the more masculine energies. 

His powerful, blue eyes scanned Oliver and I quickly, just a glance, just enough to try to get a sense of what he was walking into. I only hoped that he was not aware of the way I was thinking about him, though, with a scowl such as his, there could have been a number of things on his mind, as well. 

The woman from the agency walked into the room next. She lead the young man over to the chair directly across from us, taking the one in between for herself. While she was digging in her briefcase for our files, I started staring at the omega again. He was intriguing, with rough tattoos and gauges, looking like he might have just walked out of Blackgate or worse. 

"Perhaps, you would like to begin by introducing yourselves? It is best to get acquainted, Michael does know what he has read from the files, however, there is only so much that a piece of paper can say in situations like this."

I held my hand out in greeting toward the young omega. "The name is Barry Allen, pleased to meet you,"

He shook my hand, strange added pressure with it. "I'm Michael, little shocked that you are Barry,"

"Well, I am, and this is my husband, Oliver,"

Oliver shook Michael's hand next. 

This was just a start, it was all in the infant stages, but so far, so good. It was hopefully a sign of things to come. 


	5. All Of My All

"Miss Fine, I believe that I can take this from here. I would prefer to not have anyone who isn't involved listening in." Michael told the woman. 

The woman nodded, rising from her chair. "Very well, one of you can come find me when you are finished so that we can begin the process, there is a lot of paperwork involved with all of this,"

"Right, right, it is fine lady, I promise, just let me talk to these guys, I can handle this," He said with a glare towards the woman. She was nice to us, so it blossomed a curiosity in me. I wanted to know if there was more to this story. 

Once the three of us were alone, the omega leaned back completely in his chair with his arms crossed. He didn't begin talking, there were not any questions to answer as I had originally suspected. He just stared with his bright blue eyes, watching our every movement carefully. I had never felt so self conscious in my entire life. Even each breath that I took felt like a thousand. It was so incredibly unnerving.

"Do you talk?" Oliver asked after at least five minutes of silence. "Seriously, why did you even tell her to leave?"

"What the hell does it matter? I know what I am looking for. There is more to this then just the words that we exchange. I might not look it, but I am smart enough to know when someone is lying to me. That is why I am studying your body language. I want to know the two of you better, especially if I am going to willingly give you my baby." Michael snapped. His voice was harsh, but his eyes were sharper. This should have been mildly upsetting and I should have immediately jumped to Oliver's aid, defending him, but I was still so lost in the omega's blue eyes.

"I think it matters because you have something that we don't, the ability to have a child of your own. And, yes, we could lie to you and body language is a great tell, but it means so very little if you do not speak. The three of us need to have an actual conversation if we plan on getting anywhere today. You need to be able to make a decision based on fact, based on whether or not we would make good parents. You need to talk!" Oliver raised his voice, leaning forward in his chair. His face was flushed, but I knew better than to comment on it.

"There, that was what I wanted. I wanted to feel your passion. I needed to hear that you had some determination to be parents. I've met with lots of couples, but most of them were searching for adoption as a way to avoid their own children for a plethora of strange reasons. They would get one look at me and offer me money and favors, alphas. I don't want any of that. I just want to know for sure that my baby is being cared for by people who are meant to be parents." Michael smiled, taking a deep breath.

"Is there an alpha that we should know about?" I asked. It might have been under antique laws that an alpha could claim a child that was legally adopted after years of other parents raising them, but he looked like the kind of omega who might have been with an alpha who would try to act on that law. Despite the fact that we were going to have our own children, I would hate to become attached, only for something crazy to happen.

"Do I have an alpha? Yes, I've been mated since I was in high school. Everything was amazing, the two of us were inseparable, despite that his family did not always like me. I love him, however, and I always will. He is all of my all." Michael explained.

"Where is he?"

Michael's pretty blue eyes darted down towards the floor, then back up at me. "The last I heard he was on the run with his mother, I don't know, he doesn't respond to my phone calls anymore, I'm lucky if I even get a text. It is true that I love him more than life itself, and in a more perfect world with less destruction we might be together and be able to raise this child as a couple, but that just is not the case. I told him about the baby months ago, but he is too far gone to really care. I hope that answers your question."

I pursed my lips, not entirely sure where to go from there. I was hoping that his response would be significantly less depressing. 

"He does not want his own child?" Oliver asked.

"No, and he would not be mentally capable of caring for our child if he did. It is best that things go this way, that is part of why I was so interested in the two of you when your file was submitted. You both have stable careers, enough money to support the child so that they have all of the opportunities that I wouldn't be able to give them, a house that isn't in the projects. You also haven't tried to offer me anything for my baby, which is a plus."

"Does that mean that you have decided to give us your baby? This is a lot easier than I thought it was going to be." Oliver chuckled.

Michael nodded, running his hands over his belly. "Yes, I can't think of anyone better, and it was easy because the two of you are a great couple, besides, there isn't really much time to waste. I've only got about two months to go."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Oliver asked.

"Girl,"

"A girl," Oliver repeated, beaming. "That is wonderful,"

"It is settled then. Should I go get Miss Fine?" I asked to speed things along.

"There is one thing," Michael mumbled. "One stipulation,"

"What is it?"

"I would very much appreciate it if you would give her the middle name Amanda, to honor someone very close to me, someone I lost," 

I grabbed Oliver's hand, a gesture to show solidarity, to show Michael that we were united. "We can absolutely do that for you,"

"Good, and I'll go get Miss Fine," 

***

Even with all of the good things that were happening all around me the nightmares of blood were still there. In fact, they were becoming more and more frequent. I couldn't escape them, even when I was awake. There was no way to erase the images from my mind. It was awful, and I couldn't explain it to anyone that I knew. 

If I even dared to mention it, someone was going to think me mad and want me evaluated. That wasn't something I needed, nor could I handle it right now. 

When it was quiet in Central City was when it was the worst. Day after day I would lie on the floor, screaming into a pillow, wanting nothing more than for it all to go away. I just wanted to understand why I was suffering.

Oliver walked into the living room where I was lying. He was pulling off his tie before he came across me. Our eyes met and he kneeled down beside me. The expression on his face said far more than words ever could. I only hoped that my own expression would be able to get my message across, as well.

"Should I...should I ask? Or should I just let this slide?" He asked with that snide ass smirk on his face. It was unbelievably sexy.

I turned my head toward him. "Hmm...perhaps, you shouldn't ask, but really you should just join me here on the floor...you smell amazing,"

He grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking it upwards so that he might have been able to smell what I was smelling, but I doubted it. He was an omega, and what I was smelling was one hundred percent him, there was no way that he could have picked up on the sickeningly sweet scent that was flooding my senses, clearing the horrible bloody pictures out of my brain. 

I inhaled deeply, taking in even more of the delicious smell that was distracting me away from my problems. I reached up and grabbed his collar that he had just let go of, pulling him down to my level. We shared an incredible kiss, probably the best one in weeks. This was exactly what I needed. 

Oliver pulled away, catching his breath. "Wow, what's gotten into you?"

I chuckled. "Isn't that a question for the ages? In less than a year we are going to have two kids, we have a pretty good marriage, I haven't had to fight as many metas because of the added help at S.T.A.R Labs, and...god you smell good...why am I not in you right now is an even better question."

"You're right, why aren't you?" He asked, seductive tone paired with him licking his lips. 

"We should change this,"

"Right here?"

"Yeah, why not?" I said, nodding, running my hand down his clothed chest. He was wearing far too many articles of clothing for my liking. 

The hint was taken and he began to strip down in a private show that was just for me. I bit my bottom lip, finding my mate that much more enticing with every bit of skin that was exposed. 

He moved closer, beginning to remove my clothes in a taunting way, breath ghosting over my sensitive skin. His perfect tongue tracing lines down my body. 

I was already hard, throbbing, ready for anything. Which meant that something was going to happen. That pending doom feeling had washed over me rather quickly. It was completely different from the doom that came along with my usual nightmares.

And, I was right. 

Oliver's phone started ringing, and he immediately reached for it, hiding the screen from my view so that I would not be able to see who called. It seemed strange, but I brushed it off. 

He began speaking to someone who had a voice that I didn't recognize. The way that he was holding the phone combined with the low volume made it very difficult to pick up on anything that was being said, even though I was definitely trying. All that I was one hundred percent certain about was that the voice on the other end belonged to a man. That was not very much to go off of.

A few minutes later he hung up with whoever he was speaking to. He sat his phone down on the floor beside us, clasping one of his hands over his mouth. 

"Is something wrong?" I asked, trying to brace myself for some heartbreaking news, even though I could not even begin to imagine what it might possibly be. I leaned up on my elbows to look him in the eyes.

He moved his hand. "That depends on what your definition of that word actually is,"

"Wrong being very not good, usually,"

"Well...what do you consider not good versus very not good?"

I rolled my eyes. "What? Could you stop? Be more specific. Seriously. You are freaking me out."

"Well," He ran his hands over his face. "I just need to know that you are mentally sound right now because I'm not and I am only barely handling this, I am going to need you to be strong for this,"

"Oliver, there is absolutely no way that I can help you if you don't fucking tell me what the hell is going on!!!!!" 

His eyes grew large. "Barry, yelling at me is not going to make this situation any better,"

"I'm sorry, but you keep beating around the bush and dragging this out, just tell me so that I can actually deal with this,"

He took a deep breath. "That was my doctor, I stopped in earlier because I haven't been feeling myself lately, which you have pointed out,"

"And?"

"Remember when I said that there was no way that I could be pregnant?"

"Yes...."

"Well, I was very wrong,"

I gulped. "What?!"

"Uh-huh, okay, good, we are on the same page,"

"What!? How is this possible!?"

"I'm trying to figure that out, because it has been next to impossible for months, and now...what are we going to do?"

"I honestly have no fucking clue," I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Maybe I hadn't actually woken up from my nightmare.

This took the whole 'in over our heads' thing to a whole different level.


	6. The Luck You've Got

It seemed like the preparations went into overdrive the moment that we found out that the number of babies had increased from two to three. It was as amazing as it was terrifying. We had no idea what we were going to do, but somehow that was going to be just fine.

There was so much going on I suddenly felt like I wasn't seeing my family, outside of Iris. I wasn't seeing my friends, I was taking more sick days then I actually had available, and I had spent very little time at S.T.A.R labs for any reason. Everything had to fall onto someone else. It was not intentional, not even in the slightest, but as it turned out, despite the fact that we were very excited to be parents, we were also very unprepared. I imagined it was only going to get worse.

On top of that, I was treating my pregnant husband, my pregnant omega, like he was a fragile, delicate vessel. Obviously, with his history of miscarriage, I had every right to want to be super careful with him and everything that he did, but I might have been taking it just a tad bit too far. 

"You can't put me on bedrest, you are not my doctor," He whined, pushing back just enough.

"I could always enlist the help of Wells or Snow, whichever you prefer,"

"Fine. Whatever. I'll just sit here all alone while you live a normal life. I'll be a hermit. It is completely fine."

I took a deep breath. I was going to have to deal with this for the next eight months, give or take. I had to get used to the fact that Oliver Queen was fucking batshit crazy and cranky out of his ever loving mind when he was flooded with pregnancy hormones. "You are not going to be a hermit. You are just going to limit your physical activity down to a minimum. I mean, you are going to get to leave when we go to meet up with Michael. Unless you want me to go alone."

"Maybe you should,"

"Why must you be like this? I am your alpha, I am not trying to hurt you. Usually, you enjoy me treating you like royalty and waiting on you hand and foot. What is wrong with it now?" I asked, running my hands over my face.

"Because I hate this. I wanted a baby more than anything, and we are getting more than our fair share of them. A part of me feels like we shouldn't get our hopes up for the one that I am having. We are just not that lucky, even though I would love for us to be. We should just be happy with the ones that we know are one hundred percent certain, and then we can work from there. I don't want to get attached to something that doesn't have good odds. Please, treat me like everything is normal, not like I am made of glass. Let me be myself, then, a few months down the line, if all is still well, we will talk about treating me like a rare porcelain doll."

"Ollie, I love you," I mumbled, accepting defeat rather easily. I never realized how much of a pushover I was for him. I guess that was what love had done to me. Love and a strange  bunch of events that included my time spent in the Speed Force.

"It was that easy? I must be getting good at this." 

"Or I just give up too easily, either way, works for me,"

"I love you, Barry Allen," Oliver chuckled, sitting upright. 

"Good to know, now, are you going to come with me to meet up with Michael later?"

Oliver pursed his lips. "You know what...no...I'm not..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, no, you can go by yourself,"

"Why would you do that to me?" As soon as I was finished speaking, I realized I had made a mistake. He was probably going to get pissed off again or hit me, or something similar. "You are the one with the passion, the one that he likes,"

Oliver shook his head. "Regardless, I am still not going, I am going to embrace my pregnant hermit self, but just for today,"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, regulating my breathing. This needed to be simple and, in reality, it was, but somehow I was going to mess this up. 

***

"Barry," Michael called, his rough voice incredibly distinctive. I spun around in his direction, finding the sight of him strangely endearing. There was just something wonderful about knowing that the roundness of his belly was full with my future child. I was excited to find out what she was going to look like, especially since I didn't know what Michael's alpha looked like.

"Hey, Michael," I said with a wave.

"Where is Oliver? I am surprised to not see him."

"He is at home. He is a little under the weather, and until we know for sure what he has we did not want to potentially expose you to anything harmful." It was a lie, but it was just a little one. I was not sure how Michael was going to react to the news that the supposed infertile male omega who was adopting his child was pregnant. It might have made it look like we were in over our heads, which was increasingly accurate.

"Oh, well, you will have to tell him I wish him well when you return home. Anyways, should we get something to eat?"

"I'll definitely tell him. He really didn't want to miss today. But yes, we should get something to eat, get a chance to really talk and work out more of the details." 

Michael gestured for me to follow him to a table. The small cafe style restaurant was pretty quiet at this time of day, making it the perfect place for us to have a conversation. It seemed like it was going to go smoothly. 

We sat far off in the corner, away from the windows and the main cash register. The music was just loud enough so that no one else would be able to hear us speak. To everyone else, we probably looked like any average couple that was expecting, give or take a weird age gap. Of course, I was just speculating, mostly because I had no idea how old Michael really was, his looks were a bit deceptive.

The two of us ordered food, nothing spectacular, there were a lot of muffins, however. 

"Alright, Barry, do your worst, is there anything that you want to know about me?"

"Um...where did you grow up?"

"Southside, Gotham, you're from Central City, right?"

"Yep, born and raised,"

"Must have been nice, ya know, growing up in such a nice city, er, well, until the whole thing with the particle accelerator..."

"Gotham isn't all bad,"

Michael chuckled. "Yeah, say that when you're living on the same block as Oswald Cobblepot's mother, your siblings are killing people left and right, and your dad is in and out of jail. A house full of alphas that didn't ever know when to shut the fuck up."

"Are you the only omega?"

"I am the only male omega, my sister is one, as well, but sure as shit it was hard growing up with all of my super masculine brothers fighting and causing the entire block to hate our guts. For a while it was just my sister and I, and eventually my alpha, but now they are all gone."

"Damn, and here I thought my dad going to prison for the murder of my mother even though he was innocent was bad,"

"That's a little twisted. My family is just fucked up, your problems are because of bad police work."

I ran my hand along the edge of the table. I didn't want to talk about my family. I did not want to spill my feelings to him about Joe and Iris, my dad, Wally. All of these things seemed too private. I felt like I was breaking their trust by exposing their strange connections to me. Besides, I didn't want to accidentally experience word vomit and tell Michael that I once planned on being with Iris, that was one can of worms that was just not going to be opened. 

"I guess everyone has their issues, family wise and otherwise,"

 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is becoming a little soap opera-y, and I am not really accepting of that. I don't know where it is going, but I do know that I at least have the next chapter written and I am horribly tired...


	7. I've Been Told I've Been Better

Michael was suddenly staring at me rather intently as if he was actually physically capable of seeing right through me, of reading all of the thoughts that were running through my head about my family. The arch of his eyebrow said it all. Maybe this omega was a meta. And, if he was, how dare me not notice that before. 

Certainly I would have picked up on that. I would have had to.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked when his head cocked a little too far to the side.

"Call it ghetto's intuition or something, but you look like you have more to say, I was just waiting, wondering if you planned on fucking saying it,"

"Ghetto intuition, eh? What about the intuition that I have that you are holding back most of your swearing because of me?"

"Those don't even compare in the slightest, c'mon, Barry, let's hear what you have to say,"

I took a deep breath. I wanted to pull my phone out in order to create a distraction, a diversion that would lead us into another subject by force. It was either that or spit out whatever was causing my face to look differently.

"Alright," I began, putting my hands in a steeple. "It really isn't that important. I just thought that because you had shared such intimate details about your life back home, even if they were not very specific, that I should bring something to the table other than the mishap with my mother's murder, because it is really grim...too grim. We should be talking about something happier, something like the little girl growing inside of you that you have agreed to give to me and my husband. That is a topic worth discussing because it is an amazing, selfless thing."

Michael shook his head. "Don't think that you are going to get out of it that easy, I want to know what you were going to say,"

"Fine. Fine. Okay. So, my dad was in prison for most of my life. While that was all going on I was being cared for by my adoptive father, Joe West, a detective who has a daughter named Iris, my sister for all intent and purpose. I used to be in love with Iris, a beta, long before I even met Oliver. Nothing ever actually came from it, but I did pine after her like an idiot for years without saying anything while she dated all of these different guys. I mean, yeah, it bugged me, it actually killed me, but she always made sure I knew that she only loved me like a brother. She was also very big on the biology aspect, when I presented as an alpha, everything got weird...until I met Oliver...oh my god why am I saying all of this??"

"Because I make you feel calm, comfortable, same thing used to happen to my alpha. I'm pure blooded, despite my roots, I come from a lineage that has absolutely no beta blood at all. It makes my scent and my aura stronger, or something, I'm not really sure. It is a nice side effect, especially because the Narrows and Park Row are really not the best places to grow up a male omega. I still had to learn to fight, but I had an added advantage unless I was in heat." Michael explained, making me jump a little when he placed his hand on my arm.

"That...that's insane..." I mumbled, unable to avoid him noticing how startled I was.

"Or at least I thought you were calm?"

"I am...calm...it is just...you...are you..."

"I am an omega?"

"Well, yeah, that would be the start,"

"Well, I am also pregnant and mated, and you are mated and married...and I'm giving you my baby."

"I am married and mated, and I know all of that, but there is a lot of different stuff going on in my life right now and I can't risk anyone thinking that I would even consider doing something that messed up my entire life."

He started laughing at me. Normally, I wouldn't have minded, but he was laughing pretty damn hard. I didn't get what was so funny about what I said, but I was doing the right thing and letting it go. 

"You crack me up," He said, smiling and blinking a lot. "C'mon, let's go get something for your sick husband so you stop worrying so much. We could also talk about what we planned for today."

"Right, right,"

***

I walked into the living room and threw my body down onto the couch. The bags that were hung across my arms gently fell to the floor as I glared at the ceiling, literally trying to laser eye beam my way to the roof. I needed to sleep or take a cold shower. I never once wanted my life to be this complicated. This was borderline ridiculous.

I opened my mouth to call out to Oliver, only to find that I didn't have the energy to even make the sound. I blew air out of my nose angrily and grabbed a pillow to hold over my face since there was a scream bubbling below the surface. Sure, I didn't actually know if it would be able to come out, but I at least knew it was there and I was prepared.

"Is that how you are planning to go?" Oliver asked. I hadn't even heard him approach.

Slowly, I removed the pillow off of my face. "Most likely, I would like to have mild control over it. Although, I might need you to finish me off. You can do that for me, can't you?"

Oliver lifted my legs so that he could sit down beside me. "Hmm...I think so, but you might have to make me angry first. Give it a few weeks, it won't be too hard."

"I married a sociopath, didn't I?"

"Maybe just a little bit of a sociopath...a wee bit,"

I sat upright. "Can I be frank?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Only if I can be Jody,"

"Jody?"

"Yes, Frank?" Oliver replied with a giggle. Yeah, I was the luckiest man alive.

"Whatever, enough, let's be serious for a moment,"

"Of course, what is going on?" He asked with a hand rubbing against my thigh.

"So, you're pregnant and you are incredible and you are going to make a fantastic parent and all of that, and then Iris is also pregnant with our baby, and we are adopting one from Michael..."

"Is there an end point to this?"

"I think I am sexually attracted to Michael because he has agreed to give us his baby,"

"Are you sure you are not sexually attracted to him because he's hot? If I was into omegas he would be at the top of my list. He has gorgeous eyes."

I covered my forehead with my hand. "You don't sound mad,"

"I'm not. You are an alpha. It is natural for you to look, plus he is pregnant. Biology is undeniable. It is what it is. You and I are mated, we are married, I am not worried." Oliver explained, reminding me once again why I loved him so much. He was perfect for me. He was just perfect.

"That's what he said..."

"You told him you were attracted to him? Barry, that is not a good idea, we do want him to give us his baby, not file a sexual harassment lawsuit against us...you."

"I didn't come out and say it like that, I just mentioned that he smelled good,"

"SAME THING!" Oliver shouted. "Now move your damn legs because the uterus that contains your fetus is insisting that twelve is a good number for how many times I have to pee before five o'clock."

I did as he asked, watching him walk away. I probably would have stared off in that direction for hours had it not been for the fact that my phone was going off. 

Felicity. 

"Hello?"

_"Is Oliver with you?"_

"No, not in the room with me, but he is here since that makes the most sense for our arrangement,"

_"Well, is there any way that you can get him to Star City like yesterday?"_

"Whoa, what is going on?"

_"The Green Arrow's presence has been requested..."_

"That's all you're giving me, really?"

_"That is all that I can give you. Please get him here. Please. He's our only hope."_

She hung up on me, leaving me with plenty of unanswered questions. If this was serious, that meant it could have been dangerous. Felicity didn't need to be involved just as much as Oliver. Of course, they didn't know about Oliver yet, but that was besides the point. 

I sat there, waiting for Oliver to come back into the room. No matter what if I told him he was going to want to go. That was just the kind of person that he was. My dilemma was becoming rather clear.

A few minutes later Oliver walked out into the living room. He was completely naked. The alpha part of me said it was okay to wait to tell him, all I needed was a few minutes. 


	8. A Little Too Heavy

The alpha in me wasn't able to concentrate on the extremely sexy, delicious smelling and naked omega in front of me. It was really upsetting, but it was obviously for the best. I shouldn't have been letting arousal get the better of me. 

Clearly Felicity would not have called me with such fear in her voice if it wasn't for something important. I needed to focus. 

"Oliver..." I began, looking down at the ground like someone who didn't know what to do. I was a man lost.

"Yes, Barry? What's wrong?"

"I...um...Felicity called..."

"She did? What is going on?! Is she okay!? Is the baby okay? Is the city okay?...I haven't been there in a while...I am a bad vigilante."

I placed my hands on his shoulders, wanting him to calm down at least a little. "Oliver, she didn't say much, all I know is that someone is requesting the presence of the Green Arrow in Star City and she said it was best that you get there as soon as possible. Then you came out naked and gorgeous as you always do, but I still should have told you right away. I understand that you are going to want to go, and of course, I am going to go with you, but I need you to be careful because your friends are not exactly privy to the baby that is growing inside of you..."

Oliver took a deep breath. I knew that he was going to say something that I was not going to like. I could tell by his face. I needed to brace myself for the words that were about to leave his mouth.

"I'm going alone," He said sternly. 

"No! You will not!" I shouted, instantly letting my temper get the better of me.

"Barry, I love you, but this is something that I need to do alone. This is my city. I have neglected it for so long. Please, do not follow me." 

It set me off in that very moment. Now, I was the one who needed to calm down. I needed to take a deep breath. I needed to step back. My face felt warm and I was buzzing. I clenched my fist, fighting to keep myself from raising it up. I would never hit Oliver, but the walls might not have been so lucky.

"OLIVER, I AM YOUR ALPHA! YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I AM GOING WITH YOU TO STAR CITY! YOU WILL NOT SUIT UP WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OR BACKUP!" My voice raised even more, booming through the room in a way I wasn't even sure made sense. I was fuming. 

"Barry fucking Allen, who the hell do you think you are?! Do you really think that you are big and bad because you are my alpha? Because you are a meta? What is it? I want to know what it is that makes you think that you are better than me and have that much control?"

I sighed, head dropping. "I...I...I don't know..."

"Then why are you yelling at me?"

"Because I am worried about you, because we may have an adoption in progress and a surrogate, but that does not change the fact that you are pregnant with our baby and I am going to be overprotective. It is my nature, my biology. You are mine. I don't wish to control you, but I do wish to ensure your safety and the safety of our child, at all costs. If that means that I have to step in to keep you from making a mistake and putting both of your lives in danger then I will do it, even at the risk of myself." I explained, voice much quieter than before, cracking as the emotions washed over me.

A tear fell down my cheek. Oliver's index finger was there to stop it just as soon as it came. A reminder of why I fell so deeply in love with him.

"You aren't allowed to do that, I am the one who is supposed to be an emotional wreck, not you,"

"I'm sorry, Ollie, I just...this has been hard on both of us...everything that we have been through...I would hate for something to happen."

He kissed me in the spot where he had wiped away the tear. I had to believe that everything was going to be okay. 

"Let's go,"

***

We drove to Star City. Oliver insisted that I used my speed, but I couldn't rationalize it with him being pregnant. I did not know what effect the speed would have on our unborn child, despite it having half of my altered DNA. I was not taking any chances.

By the time that we arrived at the Arrow Cave, everyone was already waiting. Except, it seemed like something else was going on, something far more sinister and in line with what Felicity had said over the phone. The fear was not just in her tone, it was so obviously on her face, as well. 

"OLIVER!" Felicity shouted, running up to him the moment that he was inside. She wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking him down to her height for a tight embrace. She had a smile on her face, but I could see it was only temporary.

"Felicity, Barry told me that you called, that my presence was requested, what is going on?" Oliver asked, holding her close.

"We have been down here for two days, in hiding," She whispered, eyes glancing in my direction. "A speedster, not unlike the others that Central City has faced in the past, but with a female counterpart who does just as much damage. They are looking for something. The only one who actually spoke to the woman was Thea. She was told that if any of us were seen on the streets that we would be dead, and that they needed to see the one we called Green Arrow."

"Is the woman a speedster, as well?" I asked.

"I believe she is, but she never revealed her powers in front of me. It was only the guy who did. They were both suited up so I did not get the best look at either of them, identity concealing masks and what not, but they definitely are not messing around. We wouldn't still be in here if we thought that they were." Thea explained. 

"Dammit...do we know why they want to see Oliver...do they know what he looks like up close? Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with this without putting Oliver in danger?" I asked, saying too much while saying absolutely nothing of real importance. I hoped that I simply came off as an alpha who was overprotective of his omega, because that much was already true.

"We don't. No one has had any other contact with them, minus getting hit in the head with a computer monitor by the guy." Felicity mumbled. She was very much still angry about it, fresh in her mind.

I couldn't believe that someone would physically injure a pregnant omega, especially if they read as an alpha. Whoever we were dealing with was a rare breed. 

"Let's set up the meeting, I am not about to let two unknown metahumans bully my city into submission," Oliver said with that take charge voice I found so damn attractive. 

"No, Oliver...I can't just send you out there. I should go in your place. The world doesn't know that the Green Arrow is Oliver Queen, omega. This way, it would be safer. And, if they are both speedsters, I can keep up with them, I will be able to fight back."

"And, if they find out that you are The Flash and not me? Then what? What if they try to kill you for attempting to trick them? This works both ways, I can protect you, too." 

"Oliver..." Felicity spoke up. "Maybe, Barry is right. Maybe, it is best that you stay behind unless they figure it all out. Maybe, Barry knows what he is talking about, knows what will best protect both of you." 

I locked eyes with the pretty blonde. She knew. I wasn't sure if somehow she had detected Oliver's pregnancy, if he had told her before now, or I was simply reading too much into what she was saying. Either way, she was right.

"This is crazy," Oliver mumbled, throwing his hands up in the air. "I know what happens to people who trick metahuman villains, Barry's team tries to do it all the time, the success rate on the first try is not the highest. I am careful. I have been doing this long enough. I am not afraid. I need to do this."

"At the very least, you should allow me to go with you, hide out of sight, let me be there in case something goes wrong,"

"Deal, but you can only come to my aid if I absolutely need it,"

"I promise I will only show myself if absolutely necessary,"

He grabbed his quiver, taking a deep breath. "Suit up,"


End file.
